In the crowded and Apple-dominated mobile phone category, product IS cultural currency. And, with no new features for Motorola razr in 2021, we seemingly lacked a way to break through. The #HangUpOnIt campaign “flipped” smartphone marketing on its head by empowering people to act on a problem that our category has, frankly, become a portal to – the spread of online hate. We turned to influencers who stood for change and were impacted by hate to carry our message – from TikToks to dozens of GIFs created from their stories, and effectively shut down hate while elevating the Motorola brand.

Hate is one of the most hang-up-worthy aspects of society– whether it’s trolls writing negative comments in your feed, being criticized for dressing differently, being a party pooper– the list goes on. And culturally, we were in time of increased hate: pandemic, Asian hate, celebrity trolling, mental health awareness, etc.. After a tumultuous year, people were ready to break the mold. Which led us to see that the very flip that makes the razr iconic can give it a new, more relevant place in culture today. People want to “hang up” on hate, and razr can empower them to do so. For our Change-maker audience – who are eager to embrace and drive change, who value tolerance and can relate to being attacked on social media – razr could become a symbol of defiance.

The PR strategy for the Motorola Razr #HangUpOnIt campaign aimed to generate buzz and excitement around the relaunch of the iconic flip phone. The campaign's main message was that the Razr #hangsup on hate.

To achieve this goal, we partnered with a number of high-profile influencers, including fashion bloggers and celebrities, to showcase the phone's retro-chic design and highlight its features. We also released a series of teaser videos and press releases leading up to the launch, building anticipation and excitement among Gen Z audiences, tech enthusiasts and nostalgia-seekers alike.

The campaign also focused on creating a memorable hashtag, #HangUpOnIt, which was used across social media platforms to encourage users to hang up on hate. Through a combination of influencer partnerships, teaser content, and a strong social media presence, the PR strategy successfully generated significant buzz around the Motorola Razr's relaunch.

Our creative executions were designed as inspiration for and tools of empowerment for people experiencing hate or shaming online. Influencers posted videos on TikTok and Instagram, exemplifying what it means to #HangUpOnIt. They even created a unique song. We used the language of social – GIFs – to develop our messages, with influencer content shutting down a specific type of hate and including the hashtag #HangUpOnIt to ask people to shut down hate in their own lives. We used real-time data to optimize the search terms on each GIF throughout the campaign. We then launched Phase 2, which activated on a cultural moment to amplify our#HangUpOnIt message: The Met Gala. We ran takeovers on Vogue, targeting fashion readers and influencers.

We saw proven success in a few key areas:

We effectively broke the norms of traditional mobile phone advertising. By focusing fully on social – and the language of social in particular – we created a disruptive model, making the razr relevant in a new way while leveraging the iconic flip to drive real change.

We engaged and empowered our Change-maker audience. We put 92 GIFs out into the world, and garnered 40.6 million GIF views, showing how viral and engaging our content was in a short time. And with the influencer reach and celebrity content across social, our campaign hashtag reached 5.9 billion views on TikTok.

We contributed to growing brand awareness and attribution. In the time period following our campaign, we saw Motorola awareness and consideration reach their highest levels in five years and razr became #1reason for interest in the Motorola brand.